Recognizing his maid's identity.

Ronald stood in place, barely able to move.

Meanwhile, Costate, who had interacted during the [Four Heavens] crisis, seemed deep in thought:

"Ronald, your maid sure got here quickly."

Ronald simply spoke and moved in Costate's direction:

"Let's go and meet her first."

...

As night was about to fall, Costate's dusty figure appeared from across the street.

The maid, who had been apart from Ronald for some time, couldn't hide the excitement on her face. This emotion was reflected in her Magic Power, making it noticeable to any Caster.

Meanwhile, the Casters of this city were rather unlucky.

With such a noticeable disturbance, they naturally immediately noticed Costate's movements and followed, caught in a dilemma.

Should they step forward to question her?

Just perceiving the intensity of this Caster's Magic Power, they understood how ridiculous it was. Boldly approaching might just be reserving their own burial plot.

But not reacting?

As protectors of this city, it would be negligence. In this current 'war' season, it's very easy to run into issues.

As the Casters hesitated, Costate had already crossed the entire city, arriving before Ronald.

Plop—

The two met, and the maid didn't say a word.

She first knelt on one knee, with her left hand holding the suitcase on the ground and her right hand resting on her chest. Adopting this posture of loyalty, Costate then lowered her head and said:

"Sir, Costate has failed in her duty."

"I couldn't be by your side when you most needed me, please bestow punishment."

Gazing at the maid before him, Ronald was momentarily lost, his heart shaken.

—Costate's voice was trembling!

—And although the maid was bowing her head motionless, you could perceive the dramatic changes in her expression through the corners of her face.

Despite the many experiences, it hadn't been that long since they last parted.

Compared to before, Costate before him was more emotionally unique—definitely an incredible development!

"Costate, your emotional changes are so apparent? What happened?" Ronald's curiosity escaped his lips, but he quickly corrected himself to address Costate's earlier request, "As for previous matters, they were my decisions; there's no need to punish you."

Costate followed the command to stand, speaking frankly without hesitation:

"Sir, during the time we were apart, my 'heart' became more active with various thoughts, which led to significant personality development. But from this point onward, I could no longer accurately simulate my personality model, making detailed analysis difficult for now."

When mentioning this, Costate's reaction was notably conflicted.

She never voiced this concern to anyone other than Ronald; she's been pondering it for a long time, unable to uncover the root cause.

Though the maid had formed a true personality,

Under the influence of her past mindset, she found it challenging to immediately break away from previous thought patterns, even struggling to comprehend it fully.

"..."

Ronald naturally intended to share his thoughts.

But as he opened his mouth, he ultimately remained silent—too presumptuous.

The situation with Costate was surely complex. Before closely observing and studying, he decided not to rely solely on reasoning, showing respect and care for Costate.

By this time, Ronald also noticed the city Casters.

Feeling the inner conflict and difficulty among these individuals, he shifted the conversation in a different direction:

"Alright, let's leave here first, so we won't add to anyone's troubles."

"After all, just look at these people, they're quite troubled by our actions."

With that, Ronald recited a spell, taking both girls into the air.

They swiftly rose into the sky, disappearing into the unobservable night, then flew towards a deserted hill nearby.

As for the city's ordinary Casters…

They might be even more flustered because of this, quickly notifying the city's significant figures about the situation. But compared to their previous dilemma, there was no disagreement regarding the choice now.

On the other side, Ronald and the two girls descended on the mountain from the sky.

The surroundings were already completely shrouded in night.

After landing, Ronald steered the conversation to focus initially on Costate.

Through some simple tests, the situation gradually became clear.

After separating from Ronald this time, her slowly awakening personality was triggered by guilt and self-blame, ultimately completing her personality.

According to the original purpose of her creation,

Costate could no longer be considered some kind of magical puppet. Rather, she was on the same, if not higher, level as an artificial deity—a truly complete life!

Besides the birth and maturity of her 'heart,' there were also changes in her specific strength.

Costate now 'forgot' some of the mechanical methods she used to collect and learn, relying instead on her own thinking and personality to anchor the spells she mastered.

The outcome was a significant increase in the power of all her spells.

She could now ignore restrictions like incantations, casting materials, and casting conditions, transforming all abilities from the original script into powers controlled by her Gestalt abilities.

Katherine did not hesitate to express her opinion on this matter:

"Hehe—"

"The master is a monster; the servant isn't much different. You two really are a perfect match!"

Hearing Katherine call Ronald a monster, Costate ignored their previous interactions, her gaze turned hostile—she couldn't tolerate Ronald being insulted.

Ronald hurriedly reassured his maid, explaining that the two were now friends who bantered with each other freely. "And you're still laughing!" He shot an annoyed glance at Katherine, who was still chuckling, and steered the conversation back to the topic:

"Alright, let's not discuss these minor issues."

"Costate, I'm quite curious as to why you appeared here. And what about the situation with the fleet? I heard they were tangled up with the King of the South Sea?"

Before answering, Costate even blushed a bit:

"Sir, it was Nicole who made a prediction for me."

"Since there was no news from you, Nicole made a prediction for me on the ship, indicating that moving towards this direction would bring positive changes."

Even though he knew Costate was different now, hearing such a willful action still left Ronald agape:

"So...you just left the fleet alone and came looking for me?"

Costate hurriedly shook her head to explain:

"Not at all!"

"I first used a spell to influence probability, increasing the likelihood of meeting you, and arranged for Il to assist with the fleet."

"After ensuring everything was in order, I set off!"